Don't Get Careless

By Tim Gamble

All my links: https://linktr.ee/timgamble

We all get careless from time to time. This morning was one of my time to get careless. 

I had somewhere to be early this morning. It was time sensitive. I was rushing around the house getting ready. And it was one of those mornings where there seemed to be 101 other distractions going on. In my haste and distraction, I left the house without my phone. My first careless mistake.

I was a couple miles away from my home when my car started overheating. Steam coming from under the hood. I was pretty much in the middle of nowhere. No stores, no gas stations, and no visible homes around me. I pull over on the side of the road, intending to grab the bottle of engine coolant I keep in the back as part of my vehicle kit. I could refill the coolant and get back home, or so I thought.

It wasn't there. I remembered that I had used it months ago for my other vehicle, intending to replace it in a couple of days. I didn't. My second careless mistake.

Eventually, everything worked out. But it surprised me. Me. A 20+ year veteran of preparedness. Unprepared for a simple car break-down. Frustrating. 

So, what lesson can I learn? Simply this: Don't get careless. But how?

How Not To Get Careless

The first thing I should have done was to have immediately replaced the engine coolant I used months ago. No procrastination. No putting things off until later. 

The second thing I should have done was to have gotten ready earlier so that I would have been less rushed. Don't wait until the last minute to do things. 

The third thing I should have done was to quickly go through a mental checklist of what I needed as I left the house. Car keys? Check. Wallet? Check. Reading glasses? Check. Phone? Nope. I need to go back inside and get it. 

Carelessness usually results from poor planning, undue haste, poor organization, and/or a lack of focus. We all, especially me, need to work on these areas. 

______________________

AD:  Proverbs 22:3 T-Shirt - "A prudent man foresees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them; the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences." - Available in men's, women's, and youth sizes, and in multiple colors.